Back-brace.



- H. G- THORNTON.

BACK BRACE.

APPLICATION FILED DEG. 24', 1910.

1,008,500. Ptented Nov. 14,1911.

Jay E UNITED STATES PAT-EN T OFFICE.

HENRY CLAYTON THOI tlilTON, OF STEPHENVILLE, LEXAS.

-an improved brace of this character, which shall be efficient in itsuse, to perfectly and conveniently relieve the greater part of thestrain on the muscles of the'back when assuming a stooping posture.

The invention is embodied in a novel arrangement and construction ofparts, as will be, hereinafter described and as is shown in theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective of the backbrace as applied to a workman, and Fig. 2 is a plafi view of the brace.

Reference being bad to the drawings, in which similar referencecharacters indicate similar parts, ll-indicat'es a seat-pad, which ismade bf wood or other material, having suitable padding, and which is ofsuch a contour to perfectly fit over the hips of the wearer withoutdiscomfort. This pad or seat 11 is suspended from a belt '9 by twostraps 10, which straps 10are securely fastened to both the belt 9 andseat 11.

To the lower end of the-seat are pivoted right and left hand hingemembers 18 by brads or pins 19, which allow the hinges-to swing'in theplane of the seat, and to the said hinges are pivoted, by pins 13, theleg strips 1-2, which are arranged to swing forward and backward on thepins 13. Thus a. universal joint is established between the legstrips 12and scat 11. The said leg strips 12 are of wood, or other material,suitably padded, and have at their upper ends straps 14 and 15, and attheir lower extremities sockets 20 to which are fastened straps l7 and16. The straps l t and [5 are arranged to buckle together around theupper end of the-thigh of the wearer, and the straps lo and 17 arearranged to engage the lower end of the thigh, above the knee, tosecurely hold the leg strips 12 in place on the rear of the l 1-IBAGK-BRACE.-

Specification of Letters Patent. Pate ted Ngv lrl, 1911, applicationfiledpecember 24,1910. Serial No. 599,099.

thighs of the wearer. lhcn with the aid of the belt 9 and straps J tohold up the seat, the seat couvenientl' held in positiogngon the wearer,and the universal joints between the seat 11 and leg st] ips 12 allowfor the unrestricted use of the legs and feet of the wearer.

To the seat 11 is fas cued a flat spring 6, which extends up the back ofthe wearer, and which has a loop 5 uounted on its upper end. Theextremity of the back-spring 6 is bent around the loop 5, to allow theloop to swing longitudinally tl ereof.

A backpiece 3, of sift leather or other material, is mounted on the backof the wearer by means of shoulder-steps 7 extending from the up ercorners thereof, adapted to pass over t 1e shoulders of the wearer tobuckle witl straps around the arm-pits anl which are secured to thelower corners (f the back-piece 3. This back-piece 3 has an upstandinglooped portion 4, with which t. ie loop 5 engages to connect thebackiece3 and the back-spring 6'. The portion 0 the 10 p 5 passingbeneath the loop! is curved, th s' allowing for suitable movement of theb: elf-piece 3, to allow for the free movement 0 the body. a

In use, the spring 6, having a backward tension, relieves the g 'eatcrpart of the stress on the muscles 0 the wearers back when assuming astoopi rig posture, and by means of the loop 5, tiespring does. nottouch the wearer-when stoopin-g, to incon venience him, but the 31 ll isdirected solely to the back-piece. The strain is therefore concentratedupon the s at- 1l,to the relief and c nivcnicnce of they carer. The seat11 being of such a contour to perfectly [it the hips of the wearer, also1 rov ides for greater ease to the wearer, and makes the device morecflicicnt in its use. The means shown .for holding the seat in positionalso pro VIdOS for greater case an id eiliciency of the device.

It is also understood l hat various alterations and additions can wemade to the device within the scope of ti o appended claims, and it isnot desired to the specific (2UllSll'll(.'ll(ll described and shown.

l huing described my invention, what- I claim as new is:

l. The combination wi ha scat pad having a waist belt attached theretoand meansfor securing the pad to lie lower limbs, of

imll the device to 'a heck piece and pairs of strap sections extendingrom diagonally opposite corners thereof, a at spring member attached tothe seat pad, and a loop loosely connecting the free end of the springand the back piece.

2. The combination with a seat pad having at waist belt attaohedthereto, flexible leg strips loosely connected to the lower end of thepad and provided with attaching straps, of a back piece and pairs ofstrap sections extending from diagonally opposite corners thereof, afiat spring member attached to the seat pad, and a loop looselyconnecting the free end of the spring and the back piece. 15 Intestimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY CLAYTON THORNTON.

Witnesses:

C. H. HALE, RoY CHAPMAN.

